Suicide suspected in death of attorney facing tax case

A veteran Pine Bluff attorney who was indicted Aug. 8 on federal tax charges was found dead Thursday inside a building where he had an office and an apartment, police confirmed Friday.

Mark Braden Chadick, 72, was found dead after police were called to the Pine Bluff building about 11 a.m. Sgt. Richard Wegner said Chadick had suffered a gunshot wound, but no other information was available Friday.

“I can confirm we are investigating Mr. Chadick’s death as a suicide, and we don’t suspect foul play,” Wegner said.

Chadick was the same man who was indicted Aug. 8 by a federal grand jury on nine income tax-related charges, Allison Bragg, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, confirmed Friday.

Chadick was expected to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge for a plea and arraignment Thursday but didn’t show up. On Friday, the U.S. attorney’s office filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, citing a procedural rule.

Chadick’s brother, Steve Chadick, called him “an awesome brother” in an email Friday. He was traveling to Arkansas from out of state for his brother’s funeral, scheduled for Monday.

Records at the Arkansas Supreme Court show that Chadick had been in practice for 42 years.

The indictment alleged that he hadn’t filed income-tax returns in at least 15 years and that he owed at least $411,468. The IRS had filed liens on property he owned in Jefferson and Garland counties, and the indictment accused him of providing false information to the Garland County clerk’s office in an effort to remove one of the liens.

Chadick would have turned 73 Wednesday.